Must a shower room have an extractor fan?

[sussexwoman]

Spent ages searching for a definitive, correct answer.

Old house but inside it, a section of the kitchen has been taken to create a small downstairs wetroom. This contains a toilet, basin and a shower on a riser. There are two windows in the room which both open.

I have been told categorically that a fan is not required and that it is.

Can an expert give me the correct answer please?

 

[JohnD]

Spent ages searching for a definitive, correct answer.

Old house but inside it, a section of the kitchen has been taken to create a small downstairs wetroom. This contains a toilet, basin and a shower on a riser. There are two windows in the room which both open.

I have been told categorically that a fan is not required and that it is.

Can an expert give me the correct answer please?

If it was built a hundred years ago with no fan, you are not obliged to fit one.

If you converted it yesterday, you are required to fit one.

Are you the owner or the tenant?

Who was the categorical person?

 

[sussexwoman]

I'm the owner.

A long established local building company built the new wetroom and asked me if I wanted a fan. I did not, so they did not fit one.

Now I am being told they should not have given me the option, but should have told me it's a legal requirement.

Online building advice says you only need a fan if you have installed a bath.

 

[JohnD]

Online building advice says you only need a fan if you have installed a bath.

This is not true. Who told you that?

Building Regulations: Need for additional ventilation - Kitchens and bathrooms - Planning Portal

Details of the planning permission and building regulation regimes for Kitchens and Bathrooms

www.planningportal.co.uk

"Any new kitchen, bathroom (or shower room), utility room or toilet should be provided with a means of extract ventilation to reduce condensation and remove smells."

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1045918/ADF1.pdf

 

[sussexwoman]

Aha! Thank you so much, you found the document that I could not find! Cheers!

 

[sussexwoman]

This is not true. Who told you that?

Building Regulations: Need for additional ventilation - Kitchens and bathrooms - Planning Portal

Details of the planning permission and building regulation regimes for Kitchens and Bathrooms

www.planningportal.co.uk

"Any new kitchen, bathroom (or shower room), utility room or toilet should be provided with a means of extract ventilation to reduce condensation and remove smells."

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1045918/ADF1.pdf

Lots of websites say no extractor is needed if there is a window.

For example this page on RESI. The page was written just 5 months ago.

"Under current UK rules, you either need an extractor fan that can remove 15 litres of moisture from the air per minute or a window you can open more than 15 degrees."

Mind you a few lines down it contradicts itself

"Even if you only have a single toilet surrounded by four walls, a window or extractor fan is still required."

Everything you need to know about downstairs toilet building regulations in the UK

If you’re looking to install a downstairs toilet, it needs to meet these legal requirements when it comes to size, ventilation and accessibility.

resi.co.uk

 

[ericmark]

Back in 2005 I had the same, the LABC said although since it has an opening window it would not normally need a fan, because it was on the ground floor and anyone visiting the house can see in through an open window, I must install a fan.

But it would have needed planning permission as changing a room into a bathroom or kitchen requires it, so it would have been down to your LABC as to if they wanted a fan or not, the builder would have needed to do as he was told, not up to him. So you will have received the completion certificate from the LABC and as long as you have that, then it's OK.

 

[JohnD]

Lots of websites say no extractor is needed if there is a window.

For example this page on RESI. The page was written just 5 months ago.

But your room contains a shower. It is not just a WC

 

[robinbanks]

I prefer the extractor fan look than the black mold look..

You can get extractor fans that make efforts to recover heat from the outgoing air (they bring fresh air in, warm it using the outgoing stale air, it's a small version of large scale proper heat recovery systems installed in passivhauses (houses that do not require a hearing system) and not as efficient as those, but better than an extractor fan that just sucks the air out of the room

 

[sussexwoman]

It seems the controversy has arisen because the regulations have changed, but not everyone is up to date with them.

Similarly, one of the most senior and most reputable building firms in my town informed me only yesterday that there MUST be two doors between a toilet and a kitchen, a law I know has definitely been changed since he learned that.

 

[noseall]

Similarly, one of the most senior and most reputable building firms in my town informed me only yesterday that there MUST be two doors between a toilet and a kitchen, a law I know has definitely been changed since he learned that.

Long since changed, as long as there are washing facilities within the WC.

 

[Nakajo]

My prediction is that you will come to regret not installing a fan.

 

[Chainsawcharlie]

My prediction is that you will come to regret not installing a fan.

Absolutely it would be ludicrous not to fit a fan, unless you love the look of black mold